New series: Dobrawa & Loutje

“I always choose people who I admire as my subject in the photos. They got a certain gene (which I could use a bit more of myself) that makes them these eccentric and outgoing characters. So when I introduced two of my favorite friends to each other during my last trip in London, all craziness broke loose. It was hard for me to keep up with all their movements, resulting in funny compositions. It ended up being everything besides a boring evening…..”

New series: Jule

I love my friend Jule dearly, but she has a serious problem. She is a shop addict with a huge jewelry fetish. Way beyond help. Jule joined me during my trip to London and as luck would have it (for her that is), she found even more pieces to add to her collection. In this small series she wears nothing but the accessories she bought during our stay in London.

The Project: Yuliya

When Yuliya opened the door, she appeared a bit shy and giggly, but I soon found out this was only because she doesn’t speak English very well. For that reason, I couldn’t do much more than to follow her around her house and observe her. Her muscular body showed that Yulia was very sporty, which she knew how to use while being photographed. She energeticly moved around the house and showed more sides of her character. It was clear she's a little rascal. She went to the kitchen to grab a drink, and showered me with soda. After that she gave me a wonderfully naughty look, like a kid who isn’t quite sure if she got in trouble. When she later grabbed a fire distinguisher, I recognized that same look in her eyes and braced myself. When the powder filled the room, I was too late to take a shot, but we laughed hard and bonded even more.

The Project: Natalia

Natalia was the first person I contacted for my trip to Moscow. ‘This is exactly what I need!’ she replied, which made even me more excited to meet her. I traveled to her studio, north of Moscow in an abandoned military plant. She opened the door beaming and full of energy. While she rearranged the paintings in her atelier for our shoot, she told me she has always been the odd one out: in her family, in school, even in the artworld. And with hardly any commercial galleries in Moscow, being a young artist is especially hard. But none of this prevents Natalia from making art. With no money for materials, she paints on anything she can find: old packaging, pieces of wood, found canvas... She often even sleeps in the complex, on a shelf in the storage system, to save money on housing. Art is her reason to live and she’s fully committed to it. Her dedication and enthusiasm were infectious, and I followed her through the building like a puppy in love. Before I left, Natalia made a self portrait, which is now in my collection to remind me of her.

Cindy

This is how I met Cindy, from one day to another. We took a couple of snaps during her very short visit in Amsterdam and talked about photography and art. Before she went, Cindy gave me an open invitation to visit her in Marseille whenever I was in France. This happend a year later. When I arrived at the house, I was pleasantly surprised by its character and the many original seventies elements. It turned out to be Cindy's parental home where she was raised by very open-minded parents. This clearly reflects in her character and in the fun pictures we took during a great weekend.

The Project: Dasha

@dasha.akward: When u go to Moscow text me, if u don't change your mind.@iamsanderdekker: Why would I change my mind?@dasha.akward: Men are strange…

I planned a shoot with Dasha on Monday, which changed to Sunday, after which I didn’t hear from her anymore. It turned out that her car had broken down in the middle of the woods, with no cellphone reception. To top it all off, she got stung by a mosquito, which made her knee swell up to the size of a tennis ball. I soon learned these type of things happen to Dasha regularly. We rescheduled back to Monday, and she texted me the address. This time, I waited an hour in front of the building before a guy came walking up to me. 'Hello, I’m Sasha, you’re here for Dasha?’ He told me Dasha was running late because she got kicked out of her Uber, and let me into his apartment. Apparently, Sasha was just some random guy Dasha had found online, and she had arranged to use his place the day before. When I finally met Dasha, she was indeed as awkward as her IG-nickname suggested, but I absolutely adored it. We’d run through the house and used all we props could find, while Sasha was enjoying the sight of it.

The Project: Loutje

Loutje lives in a former psychiatric care center that’s now turned into breeding ground for the creative community of Amsterdam. The place fits her perfectly; all rooms and goods are shared, and Loutje has hardly need for any possessions of herself. The only things she owns are objects that hold a special memory, or that come with a story of her travels. Loutje, a biology student and industrial designer, moved all around Europe when she was little, so she never had an ordinary lifestyle. Bathing in a nearby stream while on the road, for example, was nothing unusual in her family. And this minimal, free way of living is something she still does in Amsterdam. I was fascinated by the ambiance and open vibe of her current home, but to be honest, it’s not a place where I would flourish like Loutje does.

Yulia

I met Yulia a couple of years back when she visited Amsterdam & I regretted not shooting her for my art project ever-since. When completely out of the blue I received a message that she was in town for a few days, I grabbed the opportunity & went to the apartment where she was staying. Yulia is a Russian artist who draws critiques on the consumer culture. The playful & erotic tension which arise in her drawings often relate to her own personality which she showed me during the shoot.

Jule & Hedwig

Usually I travel around the world, shooting at locations I have never visited before, meeting the models just before the photo session & working from zero concept. But sometimes a situation will appear when you least expect it. The other night I went to a cultural event in ‘de School Amsterdam’ with Jule. Without knowing, my friend Hedwig had a studio in the building & was preparing her clothing collection for that same event. So we went in for a visit with my pocket cam in hand.

Special project: Isabell

During a weekend in Rotterdam I stumbled into a bar that seemed perfect for exhibiting my works: Cafe LaBru. I was introduced to their curator, Isabell, a stunning girl from Germany who turned out to be a very energetic and creative person. We immediately felt a great chemistry, so we decided to do a shoot together, exclusively for the LaBru-exhibition. Because Isabell is a performer and fashion designer, we shot the first part of the series in her atelier. There, she didn’t just show her creations, she performed them. Their geometry perfectly enhanced the play of lines that I look for in my pictures. Next, we went to Isabell’s mother’s house, who used to be a performer as well. They’re a very supportive family and value each other’s artistic freedom. That clearly reflects in Isabell’s wonderful personality and in the lighthearted photos we took together.

Commissioned: CODE magazine

Commissioned workPublished in CODE magazine

GO SEE AMSTERDAM

A Go See is a meeting prior to a casting call. Call it an ‘instant casting’, if you will. Every issue, CODE introduces ‘new faces’ sporting menswear classics in its Go-See section. For this issue, we worked together with Dutch photographer Sander Dekker, who is known for his fun and sexy images of extrovert people. The featured classic is the denim dungaree.